Bunge Reports Q4 Loss

NEW YORK - Feb 7/13 - SNS -- Bunge Limited reported a net loss of U.S. $610 million on sales of $17,040 million for the fourth quarter ending December 31, compared to a profit of $245 million on sales of $15,692 million during the same three month period the previous year.

The fourth quarter loss reduced net profits for the full fiscal year to $28 million on sales of $60,991 million, compared to a net profit of $908 million on sales of $56,097 million during the 2011 fiscal year.

Alberto Weisser, Bunge's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, "The fourth quarter was weaker than expected. . . . Looking to 2013, the agribusiness environment is robust.

"The world needs to rebuild grain and oilseed stocks to meet growing consumption. Crops in South America are developing well and are expected to reach record levels. In combination with expected strong export demand, this will stress local grain transport and handling infrastructure more than usual, particularly in Brazil. In these environments, the value of our services and network of elevators, processing plants and port terminals increases as we are able to provide market access for farmers and deliver the right products to customers when and where they are needed.

"In sugar and bioenergy, we reached our sugarcane planting target of nearly 70 thousand hectares in 2012, which combined with our planting programs in previous years, should allow us to operate our mills at capacity in 2013. We expect our food & ingredients segment to build upon its recent momentum and extract even greater value from the business," Weisser said.